Something Wicked
by Tandem Elphies
Summary: Two American teenagers live their lives on opposite ends of the country. When the girls somehow meet on the Internet, and their two Elphie muses do as well, they are left with two vengeful witches and a heck of an adventure! A mix of book and musical.
1. Texas

**Hello all! This is Lauren (kaliawai512), and me and Nicole finally have our first chapter up for the fic we promised! This begins before we met, when I was skimming through stories and first found hers. Well, I guess that's it. Hope you all enjoy, and please REVIEW! Oh, and this.**

**Disclaimer: No part of "Wicked" belongs to Nicole nor to me. We both greatly mourn that fact, and are incredibly jealous of Gregory Maguire, who does own it.**

**Alright then, on to the story!**

**Chapter 1: The Witch is not Wicked, and Texas is not a Wasteland**

Lauren sat in her little purple chair next to her desk, a freckled hand on the mouse and brown eyes unmoving from the glowing flat screen. She slowly scrolled down the page, examining each title and summary closely, one of the few wonders in her life. A place where obsessive people like her could read and write about those copyrighted stories they loved so much. But now, she only explored one small section of the seemingly-infinite website, and its name was "Wicked"

She must have been on there for hours now. Or maybe just a few minutes. She could never tell when she was so absorbed, and personally, she didn't really care. Sure, it was a Saturday night, and she was going to die in school Monday from lack of sleep over the weekend. But this was what she did; how she survived without the groups of friends everyone else around her took so much for granted.

A soft sigh from behind her stirred Lauren temporarily. She turned her head slowly towards her bed, gazing at the person that sat there.

The woman wasn't a day over 38. Pointy, frightening features may have tricked the others into thinking she was older, but Lauren knew better. Her long black hair was tied into an interestingly loose bun, as it always was, and a nice brown frock hung down to her ankles. Her eyes were fixed intently on a thick leather-bound book she held in her hands.

In a lot of ways, she seemed almost completely normal. Except for one little detail: she was green. Yes, green. Like emeralds, artichokes, plants, cabbages and frogs. This, Lauren was used to. She had never minded it. After all, everything the woman ever did was read, eat, sleep, and occasionally throw out a rude and sarcastic remark or fly around on her broom. So Lauren could just go on with her life like she wasn't even there.

Her name was Elphaba Thropp, though hardly anyone knew her by that anymore. To most she was the Wicked Witch of the West, supposedly melted around six months before in the country of Oz, by the hands of a little Kansas girl, Dorothy Gale.

But that was all wrong. The whole country was being told--telling, spreading--nothing but lies. The Witch wasn't a puddle on the floor; she was reading the Grimmerie silently on a 13-year old girl's bed. Dorothy wasn't even around. And the worst wrong of them all was that they were not in the slightest bit in Oz. This was Texas.

"Elphie, do you _ever_ stop reading that thing?" Lauren asked after a few more moments of studying the green lady. Elphaba looked up, annoyed, and replied in that sarcastic voice that made all of Oz tremble.

"Do _you_ ever move away from that machine?"

Now Lauren was beginning to wonder how in the world the Ozians could be scared of her. She was more amusing than anything else, what with her sarcasm and rudeness. Besides, this was the 21st century. And Elphaba was from, well, not the 21st century. Lauren knew technology like the back of her hand, and was still working every day to explain to Elphie what a computer was, and what it did. God, how far back exactly _was_ Oz?

Lauren rolled her eyes and turned to attention back to the computer. She surely wasn't in the mood at one o'clock in the morning to deal with Elphie. She scrolled down some more, but didn't necessarily concentrate on the summaries anymore. Instead, she thought.

Elphaba had been there for approximately a month now. It was a funny story, really, how she had turned up here, along with every other experience onward from that.

Lauren had been racing around the house after an unusually loud crash was heard, trying to figure out what in the world it had been. None of the rest of the family seemed frightened; apparently she was quite the paranoid one. After a while she gave up and went back to her room.

But, oh, what a surprise she found there! A green woman in a long black dress and pointy hat stood staring at her computer, looking baffled by the contraption. Lauren screamed in surprise, something she rarely ever did. The lady looked over at her and fell back, shocked to find that this room actually belonged to someone. And the introductions began later, after quite a bit of confusion, some explanations that the crash had been the woman on her broom, and more than enough "Who the HELL are you?"'s.

And things had hardly changed since. Lauren knew everything there was to know about Elphie, simply because she already had before she even met her. Elphie didn't really care about Lauren that much. At least that was the impression she gave.

But one thing still sent Lauren throwing out questions. One little fact she never got to establish. Was this Elphie allergic to water?

She still didn't know for sure, but the day she came up with her hunch had been all an accident, a simple mess-up. Lauren had just walked outside to her backyard, where Elphaba sat quietly on the trampoline, reading, as always. Her father, without warning, suddenly flipped on the sprinklers, and water sprayed everywhere. And, well, let's just say Elphaba made sure the entire neighborhood knew she was being "tortured by a strange Texan assassin named Michael." Plus Lauren was locked out of her room for hours afterward by the green girl, and later found an empty bottle of oil lying in the trash can.

Now Lauren came upon a new story, completely unfamiliar in title and author. "Water and Oil," it read, by "Fae5288." _Definitely a "Wicked" fan_, she thought, very sure that this person must love the show to have a pen name related to Elphaba. She skimmed over the summary after a moment, now quite interested.

_"Thanks to Glinda, a couple of girls discover a secret that Elphaba would rather have kept to herself. What will happen when Fiyero finds out? Oneshot, bookverse."_

Lauren smirked. She most certainly knew what that secret was. She waited a second, checking the rating to make sure it wouldn't be something too mature for her. Seeing it was 'K', she opened it.

As usual, she skipped the author's note and went straight to the actual story.

_"Fiyero_

_Fiyero noticed that Elphaba harbored an intense, unnatural dislike for water. He found it strange that, although she could sit by the lake for hours, although she liked to stand and look at the fountain outside her dorm, although she would sit at her window and watch the rain fall, she would not let the liquid touch her. It was as though she was almost… dare he even think it?... _afraid _of the shining droplets."_

"Elphie, come over here, I think I found a good one!"

Elphaba looked up again, sighed in hatred of having to read this fan fiction stuff about herself, and slowly came over. By now, Lauren had taught her the English writing system, which was in fact quite odd but surprisingly easy to learn. She read the story slowly as Lauren did, the girl scrolling down bit by bit until they reached the end.

A smile stretched across Lauren's face as she lifted her hand from the mouse. "That was so cute!" she mumbled, in that unintended and somehow unavoidable high voice she got after she read something romantic. Elphaba simply stared at the screen, amazed.

She had to admit it, though she wouldn't say it aloud. This had been...good. It was truthful, matched up to her and Fiyero's personalities, and… oh, how she would kill if Lauren found this out… adorable. A nice little one-shot--as fan fiction authors apparently called it--all about her and her darling. She was rather glad Fiyero was gone, because she was blushing like hell.

Lauren quickly snatched the mouse and fixed her eyes on the little button that read "Submit Review." She hardly ever reviewed anything, considering how much she read and how little time she had. But this story was special. Something told her giving some feedback wouldn't end up as a bad thing. Maybe it could even turn out to be something… worthwhile.

Nodding to herself, she moved the cursor over a bit and clicked the little violet button on the bottom of the screen.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello everyone! This is Nicole (aka Fae5288), and my very good friend Lauren, back with installment number two! This chapter is about me and a bit of what I was doing before Lauren and I met, just like the last was some background on Lauren. I realize it's confusing, and seems to have no point right now, but it will get exciting VERY soon, I promise! So DON'T HURT US, PLEASE!**

**Disclaimer: Lauren and I do not in any way, shape, or form own or claim to own the amazingness that is Wicked. .: shakes fist :. CURSE YOU, GREGORY MAGUIRE!**

**xXxXx**

Chapter Two: Concerning College Life, Fan Fiction, And An Obnoxious Green Visitor

Nicole's attention was drawn away from the glowing screen of her laptop by an authoritative voice she'd come to know well over the past month or so.

"Nicole, are you EVER going to shut that thing off and get some sleep? You have class tomorrow!"

"Are you EVER going to stop nagging me, Elphie?" Nicole returned, and was rewarded by a poisonous look from the girl who was sitting on her bed. "I mean, what are you, for Oz's sake, my mother?"

"Heavens, no!" shuddered Elphaba. "And it's a good thing I'm not, too – I'd have killed you long ago if you were my kid."

"Thanks a lot for that. I'll remember that next time you need my help."

"Since when have I ever needed your help?"

"I'm just saying…" Nicole cast her brown eyes to the ceiling for a moment before returning her gaze to the laptop on her desk. Her mind, however, was far from the website (one that lit up her screen.

Glancing over her shoulder, Nicole once again regarded the puzzle that was Elphaba Thropp. The girl couldn't have been any older than her early twenties; in fact, she could easily have been mistaken for simply another student living on the campus of Nicole's college. Her long black dress fluttered gracefully about her ankles, and her shiny, waist-length black hair was pulled back in a single long braid to keep it out of her face as she munched on an apple Nicole had pilfered for her from the dining hall. Elphaba could have been any other normal college student, except for one thing. She was green. Yes, that's right. Elphaba's skin was the same verdant hue of grass, frogs, emeralds, Nicole's favorite sweatshirt… take your pick.

Most of the rest of the world knew Elphaba as the Wicked Witch of the West from the classic tale "The Wizard of Oz." But since seeing the musical "Wicked" six months earlier, Nicole had known better. She was no more a Wicked Witch than the Wizard of Oz was… well, a Wizard. Elphaba was merely a victim of circumstance, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, exploited shamelessly by those in power, and left for the masses of Wizard-worshipping Ozians to tear apart.

And once again she was being used to secure the Wizard's power. All of Oz was being told that she was dead, melted into a harmless puddle of green goo, the direct result of a bucket of water thrown by a female child – Dorothy Gale of Kansas, sent by the Wizard to destroy her. But all of Oz was rejoicifying in vain. Elphaba wasn't dead, not in the least. She was very much alive, holed up in Nicole's university dorm room, where she had been almost since the day Nicole had moved to college.

"Hey, Nicole," her next door neighbor had greeted her one afternoon during the first week of classes as Nicole passed her open door on her back from work.

"Hi," Nicole responded cautiously. The other girl was a sophomore, so she hadn't met her during orientation, and didn't know her very well.

"Hey, um, I thought I heard something crash in your room a little while ago," her neighbor told her.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. It sounded like something fell over."

"Okay. Thanks for telling me, I'll check it out." Nicole unlocked her door and stepped inside, steeling herself to be confronted with a broken lamp, a collapsed shelf, the set of bunk beds reduced to a pile of firewood… anything but what she actually found.

Sitting on her bed, leafing through Nicole's copy of the Grimmerie (a birthday gift that Nicole bought herself after seeing "Wicked"), and looking very surprised at the book's contents, was a very familiar green girl. Nicole shrieked in surprise; Elphaba dropped the Grimmerie and shot to her feet. Nicole demanded to know what the Witch was doing in her room and how she had gotten there; Elphaba just wanted to know where the hell 'here' was and whose room it was she'd landed in.

Eventually they both calmed down, and Nicole soon grew used to having the green girl around. She didn't cause any trouble, as she never left Nicole's room – she didn't want to be seen any more than Nicole wanted her to be seen. The only person who knew she was there was Nicole's roommate Rachel, but it was all right, because Rachel knew and loved "Wicked" like Nicole, and certainly had no desire to get Elphie in trouble. It could be a bit of a pain having her there, though. Nicole was finding it hard to get any work done with Elphaba constantly on her case about something. It seemed that the green girl wasn't truly happy unless she was making someone else miserable, and more often than not, that 'someone' ended up being Nicole.

Nicole rolled her eyes again, her focus coming back to the computer screen. In this case, she supposed, Elphie's nagging was well-founded. It was after two in the morning, after all, and she had to get up for a 9:10 class. "All right, I'll go to bed," she muttered to no one in particular. "Just let me check my e-mail one last time." Clicking on one of the little bars at the bottom of her screen, Nicole brought up her e-mail program.

Highlighted in bold was an unopened message from and the subject line informed her that someone had submitted a new review to one of her stories. Nicole had only recently begun posting her "Wicked" stories on and she dearly loved it whenever someone gave her feedback on her writing. She clicked on the unopened e-mail and brought it up, and found that the review was for her latest story, "Water and Oil," which was, to use fan fiction lingo, a fluffy little oneshot – in other words, a romantic, one-chapter-long story. She quickly glanced over the review, submitted by an author with the penname kaliawai512.

**sniff That was so beautiful! I loved it! Wow, girl, you have SOME talent for writing! Keep up the good work!**

Yet another person telling her they liked what she wrote! Nicole couldn't get over how wonderful it was to finally be recognized for her skills as an authoress. With a pleased smile, she clicked on the "reply" link included in the email and typed,

**Thanks for the compliment! I really enjoyed writing this little oneshot. I am absolutely in love with Fiyeraba, so... yeah.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you like my writing. I like to think I'm pretty good, but it's always nice to hear other people say so! LOL. **

**Anyways, keep reading and reviewing - it's what keeps me motivated to update!**

**Thanks,**

**Fae**

She signed the reply with her pen name and clicked the 'send' button before closing the window and shutting down her computer. Ordering Elphie off of her bed, Nicole turned down the covers and climbed in, and was fast asleep in minutes.

Little did she know that the review reply she had just sent would be the start of something more incredible than she could ever dream…


	3. Complications

** Hi people! Here is chapter three!**

**Just to note, I (this is Lauren, by the way) have included a section of Fiyeraba. Nothing graphic or anything like that, just a simple fluffy scene. The song that is in italics belongs to me. I wrote it, so please don't use it without my permission. It's called "I Can Close My Eyes Forever" inspired by a "Wicked" fic of that same title by "Elphie Fabala Fae Fantome" I could really relate to the story idea, so this song just popped into my head and I was forced to write it down.**

**Anyway, hope you all enjoy! And Nicole and I would like to thank ClarkeWithAnE and InkGothical for your kind reviews. They are much appreciated! Okay, on to reading!  
**

**Chapter Three: Sick Days, Friendships, and Extreme Complications**

_She could have saved him_

_She could have left him all alone_

_I could have saved you_

_But I couldn't stand being alone_

_So I stayed with you forever_

_But forever didn't last that long_

_And when you left, I tried to close my eyes_

_But you always left me all alone_

Lauren loved getting mail. Private messages, reviews, emails, or letters. You name it. It was the way she had been for years. And this review reply was surely bringing a smile to her face.

Fae. She loved that nickname. Short, sweet, and to the point, like she wished the rest of the world would be. It made her want a nickname too. Well, she already had one. More than one. "Shorty" "Shirley Temple" "Overachiever" "Teacher's Pet" And almost every name could be taken as an insult.

That was what she got for going to a 25-person private high school--skipping a grade to do so--and being the youngest person there. It could never be good news for anyone. Especially her.

But those memories left her mind as she read the message. From what the girl wrote, she sounded…just like Lauren. In a way. Review-loving, a Fiyeraba and "Wicked" fan, someone who really enjoyed writing. Yes, just like her.

_I can close my eyes forever_

_I can make the world disappear_

_I can close my eyes forever_

_But when I open my eyes, I'll always come back here_

She grabbed the mouse and clicked the "Print" button on the top of her email window. As the paper slipped out of her printer, she snatched it away and began walking towards the door, when a dry voice called after her.

"Lauren, get me some tea while you're down there, will you?"

Lauren turned around slowly to look at Elphaba. The woman was lying in her bed, covers pulled up and eyes drooped halfway open. Apparently the common cold was spreading fast this year, so even a Witch could get it, as she had started sneezing the night before. Lauren thanked the heavens for her own unusually-high immune system, and the fact her family had very comfortable couches to sleep on. She surely wasn't about to share a bed with a sick green girl!

Plus, Fiyero had had to be moved to a blanket-covered bench swing in the backyard. He had been using the couch before, as Lauren refused to let the two share a room. Of course, Elphaba had shoved the Grimmerie in her face at this rule, but gave in later, considering that it was either separate rooms, or the woods.

Lauren nodded and smiled softly. "Sure, Elphie. You want some soup, too?"

"Yeah."

Lauren was only a few feet into the hallway when the voice sounded again. "Hey, Lauren?" Lauren peeked back into the door and raised her brows questioningly. Elphie gave a small grin.

"Thanks."

"No problem." And this time she made it away without being stopped. God, how people could change when they were sick! Usually it was for the worse, making them testy, angry and ungrateful. But with Elphaba, it was the opposite. She was polite and even a little nice, though quite needy too. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all. Well, for her. Her parents, on the other hand, were ready to explode.

They didn't even know Elphaba was there, and she was still driving them crazy! All they knew was that the food was disappearing twice as fast as normal, they always found a strange broom in Lauren's room, and suddenly their daughter was making tea and soup constantly, locking her bedroom door and sleeping on the downstairs couch. Plus, at least four times in the past month, their nine-year old son Ross would hear strange noises out in the hallway and later would wake up from nightmares screaming "The Wicked Witch of the West is going to KILL ME!"

Lauren had done to her best to keep everything a secret. But somehow hiding a sick green witch from a naïve little boy, an intuitive and slightly overprotective woman, and a very suspicious man wasn't nearly as easy as she had suspected it would be. And to think she had once dreamed of having her favorite "Wicked" character live in her house!

Sighing in annoyance and the irony of the whole situation, she stepped down off the final stair step and moved quickly toward the kitchen, a final thought skipping through her mind.

_Fiyero should be doing this. After all, it's not my job._

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_Maybe you should have left me_

_At least then things would have turned out right_

_I would have lived my life without happiness_

_And you would have lived happily after all_

_But instead we found we needed each other_

_And we stayed together for all our time_

_But then that day came when you weren't there forever_

_And I found you had taken all my life_

Elphaba laid back against the two lime-colored pillows and stared at the ceiling. She sniffed and rolled her eyes at this blasted cold. It was so common, yet so…torturous. A cough, stuffed-up nose, constant sneezing, and unbelievable drowsiness. Of course, they had it in Oz, but she rarely ever got sick with anything. It just _had_ to happen here.

For some reason, Lauren thought that because she was a witch, she didn't get sick very often. "No, it's most certainly not because of that, brainless," she wanted ever so much to say to that girl. But she didn't have the energy to throw out a rude remark at the moment. Plus, Lauren was the one who brought her tea, soup and that _repulsive_ cold medicine.

After a minute, her eyes began to slowly close, and she relaxed her head against the pillow, fully ready for sleep. But once again, luck had a serious grudge against her.

_Knock, knock._ The tapping on the door only made her headache worse, and she groaned, pulling the covers up higher and turning away from the noise. "Elphie, I brought what you asked for," came Lauren's soft, innocent-sounding voice as she walked in and approached the bed. In the slightest of ways, she sounded like Dorothy. Not nearly as whiny or high-pitched or fearful in the slightest. But it was the gentleness and caring that seemed to always bring the little Kansas girl to mind.

She pursed her lips. She _hated_ Dorothy! She hated Lauren, too, but not so much. _Elphaba Thropp_, she told herself, _you will not let this annoying Texan make you change your mind about her or the farm brat! Not a chance in Oz!_

A small clank sounded against the nightstand as Lauren set what Elphaba assumed to be a few glass dishes down on the black wood. As the girl closed the door behind her, Elphaba rolled over and gazed at the items sitting there.

A bowl filled with steaming chicken noodle soup--that was all the soup the family had--and a tea mug. Her lips turned up slightly in appreciation, but frowned as she saw what was beside those: a tablespoon full of artificially-flavored purple liquid. In others words, her medication.

She sighed softly and reached over to pick up the tea, situating herself against the wall behind the bed--that brat needed to get herself a headboard! Elphie took a small sip and swallowed. Chamomile. With a spoonful of sugar and a little honey. For once, some food here that was actually edible, and quite tasty, for that matter. She finished the cup quickly, setting it back down on the nightstand.

_I can close my eyes forever_

_I can make the world disappear_

_I can close my eyes forever_

_But when I open my eyes, I'll always come back here_

This time when the door opened, there was no knock. The person merely entered almost silently. Elphaba turned her head a bit and smiled. There stood Fiyero, gazing back at her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

She considered lying so that he wouldn't worry about her, but gave it up, knowing that he had enough brain power to see right through that. She smirked. "Sick and miserable." She raised her eyebrow as Fiyero began to look concerned. "Yero, when have I ever been any different?"

He gave her a small grin at the humor and put his hand on her cheek, stroking it with his thumb. After another minute she spoke again. "Where were you?"

"Out in the woods, checking things out." He seemed to have been enjoying the small forest behind Lauren's house. The trees were dense and there was occasional wild-life, but no Animals, to Elphaba's dismay. She had almost deafened Lauren with her ranting after the girl explained that Animals had never existed in this world as far as anyone knew.

Elphie nodded. "It's very quiet up here. Even a little…"

"Lonely?"

It was amazing how well he knew her. "Yeah."

He slowly moved himself to sit behind her. She laid her head against his chest and sighed happily, feeling his arms wrap around her back. "Goodnight, Fae. Sleep well," he whispered softly to her.

A grin crept onto her lips. "Goodnight, Yero." And then she fell asleep.

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_When you close your eyes, you dream_

_When you open your mind, you see_

_But now that you are gone_

_I cannot see anymore_

So Fiyero was finally taking his job as a boyfriend seriously? Lauren had wondered for ever so long if he would at all. Sure, he sat with Elphaba on the couch, talked to her, and kissed her like most boys. But Lauren had always thought he would be more of the taking-care-of-her type. Maybe she was actually right.

Jealousy was a cruel emotion. Everyone feels it, so everyone knows what it is and what it does. But usually it's escapable. Lauren's situation wasn't nearly so easy.

Elphaba was gifted. Lauren had established that from the first day she saw her on Broadway. It was a hard-to-find trait, and really, it made for some very interesting people. But it was _not_ easy to deal with.

And Elphie had a boyfriend. A kind, good-looking, caring boyfriend. Sure, he was lazy. And he wasn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the box. But he was great. No, Lauren didn't like him. She didn't want Fiyero. She wanted someone else. But what boy would ever like her?

She had shown Fae5288's reply to her mom, like she did everything else she received in the mail, after she passed Fiyero on the stairs. It was news to get more than a single sentence for a review reply on fan fiction. Now she re-entered her room and turned her head away almost immediately. The sight was unbearable.

Both Elphaba and Fiyero lay--well, half-lay, they were more sitting--asleep on her bed, smiles decorating their faces. Fiyero's arms were wrapped possessively around his green girl, like he never wanted to let her go. Lauren bit her lip and walked in, keeping her eyes away from the two. She couldn't see that, and then know she would never have it.

_I wanted to close my eyes forever_

_I wanted to make the world disappear_

_But when I closed my eyes forever_

_However much I tried_

_Ever much I dreamed_

_You could never come back here_

She twirled one of her light brown, wavy curls around her finger as she sat down at her desk. As she touched the mouse softly, her email window popped up to replace her night-sky screensaver. She clicked the link to Fae5288's profile and started a private message.

**Welcome! Anytime, really! Yeah, I'm completely in love with Fiyeraba too, I've just never gotten down to writing a fanfic about it. I'll be sure to check in for more of your stuff!**

**Lauren**

She tried as much as she could to sound happy as she sent it, and could only hope it worked. She didn't want to be a depressed teenager around someone she had just met. Lauren returned to the girl's profile, attempting to replace her sadness and jealousy with curiosity.

**Hello Everyone!**

**So you're probably here because you read one of my stories and liked it... YAY! Or because you're my friend and I told you to check out my profile. Either way, WELCOME!**

**I have recently begun my first year of college, so I make no promises about how often I'll be able to update. However, I will try my best to post regularly and actually finish stories, which is something I never do when I'm writing.**

Lauren's eyes widened, and she blinked. Fae5288 was…in college. She thought of her own age, and remembered the last time she had had an internet friend that was five years older than her. They were close. That was, until Lauren mentioned her age. After that, the newly-made friendship faded until there was nothing left.

Lauren didn't want that to happen again. Fae5288 seemed really nice. She certainly didn't want everything to be really awkward because of the age difference. She wouldn't lie. She _couldn't_ lie. Her darn conscience wouldn't let her. No, she just wouldn't mention that she was thirteen.

She thought again, her mind somehow drifting back to the big picture of her life. Would things ever look up for her? Everything was so hard now. It had been for the past four years. All she wanted was a friend. One single true friend.

Once again, naivety seemed to be getting all the best of her. She would have even more…


End file.
